Advocacy
Smart Communities: Curbing Sprawl at Its Core
Publication Date:
November 1, 2009Written By:
Tony ProscioSource:
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)Read more...
Synopsis:
Tony Proscio examines what some skeptics consider competing efforts: community development and Smart Growth. These skeptics claim that Smart Growth concentrates on the outer urban areas where sprawl is occurring, while community developers are concerned with the inner neighborhoods and lower-income residents. Proscio however points out that history has actually shown that these two efforts compliment one another. In focusing efforts to rebuild the urban core through community development, you are diminishing the pull to move to the outer urban areas. This has led community organizations to “recognize that their neighborhoods are far more likely to rebuild and prosper in a strong, well-managed regional economy than in a weak and haphazard one.” He paints a picture of an unhealthy community: “developed land is being abandoned and wasted, while remote, undeveloped green space is being paved over for new residents.” This is a regional issue: the inner city is losing its economic base and left with “blight,” while the outer land is being lost to development. Through his example of Allegheny West, he suggests that a healthy community and region are dependent on rebuilding and reusing the developed spaces in the inner city which then also rebuilds the employment potential of those properties. This will require a state-local collaboration of government representatives, businesses, residents, and community developers.
Rethinking Sixty Years of Sprawl
Synopsis:
Andre Shashaty of Partnership for Sustainable Communities looks at how the past sixty years created the “faceless ’sprawlburbs.’” He notes that while residents, politicians, and scientist are now coming to grips with the environmental impact that development type has had on our communities, there is a new focus to move back in toward the central city. As he states, “there is hope for even the most distressed cities to make a comeback.” This requires reinvestment “in the existing urban centers” through reuse of the infrastructure and restoration of underutilized or abandoned property.
The Ripple Effect
Synopsis:
Richmond LISC followed up on The Impacts of Targeted Public and Nonprofit Investment on Neighborhood Development report. That report reviewed the Neighborhoods in Bloom policy which directed public and nonprofit investments to specific communities with the aim of attracting and sustaining additional private capital. Based on the policy and report, Richmond LISC determined that such targeted programs create a ripple effect. This includes higher property values in and outside the targeted area, decreased crime, increased tax revenue, and new business investment. “As the gap between development costs and market values shrinks, private investments return to formerly isolated neighborhoods.”
Vacant Properties: The True Cost to Communities
Synopsis:
NVPC examines the costs and effects that vacant properties have on a community. In doing so, they explain that action needs to be taken and the best option is rehabilitation and/or adaptive reuse. “Abandonment often seems beyond the control of local officials, and it rarely incites a sense of urgency beyond the neighbors on the block where it occurs.” Action needs to come from the regional or state level as the local community may be strapped for resources due to the spiraling effects of abandonment. The effects include: strain on the local police, fire, building, and health departments resources; depreciated property values; reduced property tax revenue; increased/concentrated crime; degraded quality of life of remaining residents. Rehabilitation is the key as demolition results in a vacant lot that will still need maintenance, host criminal activity, and reduce property tax revenue. Michigan’s Public Act 123 streamlines the system to return vacant properties back to use. It enables county and state governments to reclaim properties quickly so that the property does not continue to deteriorate or spread blight.
Building a Better Urban Future
Synopsis:
Alan Mallach, Research Director at NHI, examines the opportunities that weak-market cities can provide. He notes that while many American cities have seen a rebirth and reinvestment, not all cities have shared in the experience. He defines the weak-market cities as those that “continue to lose population, jobs, and businesses.” These cities, however, have a number of assets which can be used to rebuild the economies and quality of life. One such asset is the built environment. He notes that while these buildings may have been built for a particular use, they can be adapted for a new one depending on what the community needs. He then outlines seven principles that can be used to help guide development of the policy goals for housing and economic investment.
Is Your Community Trying to Revitalize Backwards?
Synopsis:
Storm Cunningham points out that communities typically try to revitalize their economies backwards. The standing method is to attract employers through incentives. These employers will then create a larger tax base to then build up the local quality of life and assets. Cunningham however points out that this is a “zero-sum game” as this method tends to diminish the potential taxes (due to incentives) as well as simply shift jobs from one community to another. These employers are there for the package and will leave when another community offers them something better. Cunningham argues that community should invest in their assets and quality of life. With this foundation, employers will then seek out the community without the need for tax incentives and are more likely to stay.
Adaptive Reuse of Obsolete Power Plants
Publication Date:
June 2001Written By:
Richard A. ScaddenSource:
A&WMA 94th Annual ConferenceRead more...
Synopsis:
Dramatic changes in the electric utility industry (deregulation, competition, fuel costs, new technology, urban growth around the plant) has resulted in a number of obsolete and abandoned power plants. Richard Scadden examines the causes of the shift, the process to determine the fate of an out-of-date plant, as well as the opportunity these vacant structures can provide under another use. Written under far different economic conditions, these buildings can still be reused today. There are a number of factors to consider: removal of the power generating equipment, addressing of environmental contaminants that may be present, leaving a “clean” shell, who owns the structure, who or what is the driving force for the new use. Positive aspects of old power plants: include large “halls,” designed with a “significant amount of style,” close to urban area, located near bodies of water which may include recreational areas, significant infrastructure in place such as railways. He closes with examples of power plant conversions.
Downtown Voices: Creating a Sustainable Downtown
Synopsis:
Downtown Phoenix Arts Coalition (D-PAC) teamed up with Arizona Chain Reaction, Phoenix Coalition of Historic Neighborhoods, The Community Housing Partnership, and Local Initiatives Support Corporation to host the Downtown Voices conference. The purpose of the conference was to get the community engaged in the growth and planning taking place in their city. The organizers wanted “to insure that plans for downtown (Phoenix) revitalization are the most comprehensive, inclusive and the best that they can be.” The report outlines a number of steps the city and community should take to meet this goal. Adaptive reuse comes up a number of times as a way to: preserve historic buildings that are too young to be registered, provide additional space for a growing arts community, and preserving a sense of place and community.
Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings Makes Economic Sense
Synopsis:
Mark Thaler suggests the need for municipalities to adopt adaptive reuse policies by using an economic framing. In addition to the economic benefits, Thaler also demonstrates that reuse provides neighborhood character, societal benefits (correcting the ills brought on by an abandoned property), development of tourism, and environmental advantages. Each one of these, he argues, carries an economic benefit as well. By showing current federal (historic preservation tax credit, non-historic commercial tax credit) and state (NY’s potential income tax credit for home rehabilitation), he demonstrates that public policy can help to spur this process. It also requires the development of flexible building codes which is shown through the New Jersey example. With the adoption of a Rehabilitation Code in 1998, adaptive reuse spending “skyrocketed” in the state.
Adaptive Re-Use of Motels
Publication Date:
January 11, 2005Written By:
Chas BelknapSource:
National Mental Health Association of Greater Los AngelesRead more...
Synopsis:
Chas Belknap, Director of Housing, examines the issues behind the old and outdated hotels and motels in Long Beach, California. The issue regarding these properties was raised by the Long Beach City Council, Planning Department, and Housing Department. Belknap explains the history behind the development of these properties, who they originally served (workforce, travelers, indigent population), and the issues with using them today. As these buildings were built on small parcels and without parking lots, they do not meet current zoning standards. NMHA suggests that these buildings be adapted as low-income, special need tenant housing. This will require zoning and code changes by the City. Belknap posits that this will help to deal with the source of “neighborhood blight” as well as relieve the stress of the indigent occupants.